Influence of the 'live performance' is memory both rich and fit to share

Published 6:00 pm, Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Over and over when I think of "great performances" and especially "great music," I often recall my Uncle Dalford Todd's spirited recollection of his attending concerts conducted by The March King, John Philip Sousa (1854-1932).

Those surely were rousing performances that one only can imagine even while listening to old turntable recordings of Sousa's music, notably "Stars and Stripes Forever," "The Washington Post," "Semper Fidelis" and "Hail to the Spirit of Liberty."

Great music, as with great theater, great art and great literature, is that which transports the soul to glorious heights and introspective depths. The imagery lingers, rises and falls and comes again. That must have been my uncle's experience in the earlier stages of the 20th Century when Irving Berlin was writing memorable patriotic and romantic music ("God Bless America" and "Always").

While I am not the theater-goer or the concert-goer which I once had vividly imagined and somewhat avidly practiced, last weekend, at the behest of Francine Weaver, I did attend a Midland Community Concerts Association's Live on Stage performance by 39-year-old Greek-Canadian guitarist Pavlo and his band playing lively Mediterranean music.

It was quite a stir.

While seated in the balcony and pleasantly attuned to the performance in Midland High School's mid-1900s Auditorium of splendid acoustics, I recalled what Larry Groce, host and artistic director of National Public Radio's Mountain Stage, says when his musical show is winding down: Thanks for listening, folks. But catch a live performance in your neighborhood or thereabouts (to paraphrase).

Downstairs, when the Pavlo musicians were staging an encore, Midland's Ralph Miller, an avid NPR fan, stood tall in the back row while his well-conditioned 6-foot-4 frame happily danced - more or less - in-place and with great delight.

At Pavlo's beckoning for someone to dance with him on stage, Sandra Rybicki - no slacker was she - just about sprinted onto the stage and, exhibiting her ballroom dancing skills, "cut a rug" with vigor.

Like most of the folks in the audience, the striking Sandra Rybicki sported a silvery-gray head of hair styled for any cheery occasion (or not). But there were youths aboard, not just in spirit only, at the concert. Three Carr sisters, Rebecca, 14; Deborah, 10; and Sarah, 7 (closing in on 8) joyfully attended the show with their grandparents, Leo and Judy Carr.

While musical sound systems abound in homes, automobiles, stores and just about anyplace where civilization treads, recorded music, however grand, must play second fiddle to live performances. (My recorded music consists of 78-rpm and 45-rpm records but mostly those fabulous LPs dating to middle of the 20th Century. I have a smattering of CDs and cassette tapes.)

Indeed, Midland is rich in live performances both on stage and in theater. World-class operatic singer Susan Graham, who was raised in Midland, recently performed in her old home-town. Her performances are stellar and win great acclaim. Popular country singer-guitarist Willie Nelson occasionally puts on shows in West Texas. The performance range, from concerts to solo performances, is impressive.

Though it is still thrilling to hear and to sense the command of Sousa's recorded music, I can envision the mighty sway of attending a live performance of music designed to awaken the heart and to fill the soul with goodness and delight and with something think about for quite a while.